A Paralytic Healed
1 And [when he] entered again into Capernaum after [some] days, it became known that he was at home.
2
And many had gathered, so that [there was] no longer room, not even at the door, and he was speaking the word to them.
3
And they came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four [of them].
4
And [when] they were not able to bring [him] to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. And [after] digging through, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying.
5
And [when] Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven."
6
Now some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7
"Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?"
8
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they were reasoning like this within themselves, said to them, "Why are you considering these [things] in your hearts?
9
Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Get up and pick up your stretcher and walk'?
10
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,"--he said to the paralytic--
11
"I say to you, get up, pick up your stretcher, and go to your home."
12
And he got up and immediately picked up his stretcher [and] went out in front of [them] all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen [anything] like this!"
Levi Called to Follow Jesus
13 And he went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he began to teach them.
14
And [as he] was passing by, he saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me!" And he stood up [and] followed him.
15
And it happened that he {was dining} in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners {were dining with} Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they were following him.
16
And the scribes of the Pharisees, [when they] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
17
And [when] Jesus heard [it], he said to them, "Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those {who are sick}. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
On Fasting
18 And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, "{Why} do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
19
And Jesus said to them, "The {bridegroom's attendants} are not able to fast while the bridegroom is with them, [are they]? As long a time [as] they have the bridegroom with them, they are not able to fast.
20
But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
21
No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment. {Otherwise} the patch pulls away from it--the new from the old--and the tear becomes worse.
22
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. {Otherwise} the wine will burst the wineskins and the wine is destroyed and the wineskins [too]. But new wine [is put] into new wineskins."